You've got to give it to Google. When it launched Google+ over a year ago, it said it was the real deal. Something the company was going to really invest in. And that's certainly been the case.

Mark Boudreau's insight:

Why Google+ Communities is a big deal for brands

Google+ Communities is similar to Facebook's and LinkedIn's Groups features, but that doesn't mean it should be an afterthought for marketers, Danny Whatmough writes. "There's also little doubt that this information will be used to optimise search. ... [T]hat extends the influence of Communities far beyond what is possible with Facebook and LinkedIn Groups," Whatmough writes.

That test many of you have been seeing where Google shows its search options above the search results instead of on the left? It’s not a test anymore. Google has just confirmed that all U.S.

Google has just confirmed that all U.S. searchers will soon be getting the new interface — one that highly resembles Google’s mobile search results pages. Options to search verticals like Images, News and Maps are moved from the left-side of the page up above the top search results.

Facebook has introduced a “Pages” only newsfeed filter that provides content exclusively from brands users follow. The move is in response to a market uproar as the company began changing the way brand content appears in the main news feed and then charging companies for increased distribution.

Ad executives continue to complain about a decrease in Facebook-page traffic, suspecting a tweak in the EdgeRank algorithm that determines how content is displayed in news feeds. A Facebook engineer says the company does routinely change its algorithm, although the company has not commented on any specific changes. Experts outside the company say spam on the network could have served as a catalyst for adjustments to the algorithm

The new Google Maps Geolocation API enables an application or device to determine its own location without the use of GPS. With a Geolocation API, a business could keep tabs on its vehicles without having to install expensive GPS units. It does this by looking up locations of nearby WiFi access points and cell towers.

For investigators preparing a recommendation that the government sue, a main line of inquiry has been whether Google has manipulated its search results to favor its products.

Using a rank checking tool, Wall also made a few startling discoveries. Small business websites and blogs that had previously been ranking for generic keywords were now being replaced in the search engine results pages (SERPS) by big name brands. For example, for the generic keyword “health insurance” the un-brand website healthinsurancefinders.com was bumped down the list and Eatna.com appeared over night, from out of nowhere, at the number two spot.In December 2010, Google launched Google Instant which presumed to read searchers’ minds and help them with their typing. All you had to do was go to your Google search box and start typing and, based on the letters you entered Google would provide the most popular search terms. Now you didn’t need to waste all the time pecking around on your keyboard, you could just type A or B or Z and Google would show you the most popular search terms.When they were accused of using Google Instant to manipulate search results, Google’s head of search, Amit Sinhal, denied the allegations, stating that the reason Amazon or Target kept popping up when searchers typed in A or T was because they were the most logical results based on statistics.However, Courtney Mills at IneedHits.com found that for 21 out of the 26 letters of the alphabet, the first suggestion that came up was always a name brand.

Google+ is a Ghost Town?The facts about Google+ are oscillating quite a bit these days from good news to bad. Not long ago, there was nothing but good news about Google+, but now people are calling it a “ghost town.”

At least, that is what MarketingLand and Umpf are saying about it, based on information and a graphic that are presented in an Umpf blog post. Umpf, an online PR firm, did a small study about whether Google+ was really as popular as some people, including Google, make it seem sometimes.

According to their infographic, Google+ may have a large number of user accounts, but in other areas their numbers are not at all impressive.

Google just announced on its earnings call that there are now 250 million users on Google+. That's not active users. That's the number of people who have "upgraded" their Google Account to include Google+ functionality.

There was a short time when using social media for customer service made you an innovator.

Now, while it’s becoming table-stakes, there’s still an opportunity to leverage social media to take your customer service to a new level.

Warby Parker, the industry disrupting seller of stylish, affordable eyewear, noticed fewer customers were using their 1-800 number and more were turning to Twitter to pose questions. But, Warby Parker found it difficult to answer complicated questions, such as those about prescriptions, given Twitter’s 140 character limit.

Looking for a way to interact with that customer outside the constraints of Twitter, the company’s social media team started shooting videos of themselves answering questions, uploading the videos to YouTube and replying to customer’s tweets with a link to the video.

Something unexpected happened. Warby Parker found that customer service tweets that included a video were retweeted 65 times more frequently than other tweets from the company.

“Customers were so blown away that we are going to these lengths to meet their needs that they tweet about it and tell dozens of other people,” Warby Parker Co-Founder Dave Gilboa said. “That’s been a win-win in thinking about customer service as a marketing channel.”

It’s a great proof point that there are still countless new ways to think about how to leverage social media to help solve problems for customers. Great service is simple – be fast, friendly and helpful. Social media is perfect for that philosophy.

An effective social media strategy for customer service oftentimes turns into dollars. The 2012 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer reported that people who have used social media for customer service at least once in the last year are willing to spend 21% more with companies they believe provide great service – in contrast with the general population, which is willing to spend 13% more.

The study also found that more than three in five Americans feel companies have not increased their focus on providing better service, and of this group, 32% feel businesses are paying less attention to providing good customer service.

Adding another service channel may seem daunting for some companies. But, of the 500 employees that are part of Zappos.com’s customer loyalty team – which handles email, phone, live chat and Twitter correspondence – only 5 members handle all of the tweets. Even smaller operations should be able to leverage free social media monitoring tools to easily handle questions and comments pushed into public forums without the need for additional manpower.

In a 45 day study published earlier this year, STELLAService - which evaluates the largest online retailers’ customer service performance on a daily basis - found that just 44% of customer service inquiries posted on Twitter to the top 25 online retailers were responded to within 24 hours. What’s more, six of the 25 retailers didn’t reply to any customer service inquiries over the same period, a service decision that could be costing those retailers millions in lost sales.

The following companies where the top five performers in October for replies to tweets within 12 hours: LLBean.com (100%), Fab.com (91.7%), Gilt.com (88.9%), Zappos.com (85.7%) and Newegg.com (83.3%).

If you’re still trying to get a handle on the best way to manage social media accounts for customer service, here are a few tips:

☛Respond quickly. Shoppers that ask a question over Twitter expect a response 100% of the time. Prioritize your response to these shoppers over others who may be making a statement about your brand.

We've been hearing about an Apple television for a long time now. The big problem for Apple seems to be figuring out how to get cable companies and content companies on board. This isn't like launching the iPad, where Apple just makes a tablet and then developers build apps.Content makers have restrictions in their deals with cable companies on their content, which could limit what Apple would like to do. Apple has to negotiate with both groups simultaneously to crack the TV market.And, even when Apple figures that out, the TV market is not like the smartphone market. People aren't going to buy a new TV every year, or every other year. So, anyone looking at Apple attacking a huge new market, should temper expectations.

Google TV is getting voice search.You can search by specific show name, or if you're not sure what you want to watch, you can say a genre or a topic like "reality television." No one ever remembers channel numbers anyway, so now you can just simply say the name, like "ESPN."

Google's also adding PrimeTime, an unobtrusive improvement to the on-screen guide. As neat as these additions are in and of themselves, they're also shots fired across the bow of Google's biggest adversary; Apple's been rumored to put Siri in your television-either through Apple TV or an Apple-branded HDTV-for years now. Chalk this up to a battle won by Google in the TV arms race.

In the late 90’s, the e-commerce revolution was upon us and it would come to realize many speed bumps and growing pains to get to the point where we know it today. Industry analysts spent hours debating how e-commerce would change the shopping experience.

DigitGoogle expands Gmail field trial; adds Drive and Calendar in search resultsDigitFollowing the introduction of 'Search Plus Your World' that integrated social results into Google Search, Google is now testing the customised search feature for ...

According to two Berkeley economists who've run a statistical treatment on 328 restaurants in Yelp's most active market, it looks like the effect is pretty significant. For restaurants that have little information available online outside of Yelp -- therefore nowhere else for people get info on their location -- will sell out 27% more often with a half-star increase.

Monetate.com took some of core points from the above study, and other studies in a similar vein, and lathered it into a visual representation that discusses the continuing effects of social media networks and the effect they have on travel and hospitality bookings.

Apple's stock is now down about 10% from its recent pre-iPhone high. Suddenly, the Apple bulls have gone quiet. Suddenly, you don't hear everyone agreeing that Apple's obviously going to $1,000 or on its way to becoming the first $1 trillion company anymore. So, what's going on?

Alt-weeklies are always dying. But the news Friday that four editorial staffers were laid off or had their hours cut to part-time at The Village Voice — two features writers, a news blogger and a listings editor — makes the sad fact of that paper’s eventual demise, evident for years, more immediate.

Robin Good: In the overall effort to improve the quality of its search engine result pages Google is continuining to make significant improvements to its search engine.

Starting from now all users worldwide can see Knowledge Graph results showing up on top of search results as a visuable and browsable list of alternative options to explore.

Not only.

Google is now officially goig after the gathering and curation of the best list, collections and guides on just about any topic.

From the official Google Blog. Read it carefully: "Finally, the best answer to your question is not always a single entity, but a list or group of connected things.

It’s quite challenging to pull these lists automatically from the web. But we’re now beginning to do just that.

So when you search for [california lighthouses], [hurricanes in 2008] or [famous female astronomers], we’ll show you a list of these things across the top of the page. And by combining our Knowledge Graph with the collective wisdom of the web, we can even provide more subjective lists like [best action movies of the 2000s] or [things to do in paris]."

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.